Reviews: X3 Big thanks to; Demolition-GIRL-33236, sasukoi, Secret Thought, chrono-contract, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, The JohhnyMcKilt Productions, DancerInTheDark101, Sharingan Fox, Painted Ys, Tenshi of Freedom, Thegoldenlock, the Light Shadow, Rapunzelle, Blaze Queenie, Dranza the Phoenix Goddess, hiei and kurama's little girls, Nameless Little Girl and kissedbykai for taking the time to review!
I apologize for the lateness and the shortness of this chapter. I am currently going through some work issues at the moment, which really is quite draining on me. And the fact that I was told that my stories are rather bland also adds to that. In a way this chapter is just a cute little filler, so I guess that's true... Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story none-the-less.
"What brings you here, Kai?" Miguel asks, turning his gorgeous blue eyes towards him and once again Kai feels a small shiver of delight race down his spine but then he quickly stiffens when he recalls the question.
"Oh, ah," Kai mutters for a moment, wonder whether he should try to come up with some cool and witty excuse why he's here. Or simply tell the intelligent blonde that he's here because he's teammates was driving him nuts!
Turning to Miguel, who is looking at him with keen interest, his head tilted ever so slightly to the side much like he has seen an adorable kitten do many times before, and Kai finds himself unable to lie to him. "I needed to get away from the others for a while, so I hoped on my private jet and flew here."
Kai presses his lips together, his eyes widen slightly in surprise and he inwardly curses himself. He promised himself that no one would find out about his private jet, and what happened? He blurted it out to Miguel without so much as blinking!
"You flew all the way to Spain just to get away from them?" Miguel asks, blinking his stunning blue eyes slowly, his face oddly blank of emotions.
Kai blushes lightly, knowing all too well that he's methods of getting some 'me time' is a little extreme. Yeah, ok. Suddenly demanding that his private jet be ready in ten minutes and then jumping on with only the clothes on his back is kinda extreme. And Spain, well, that's a few hours away from Japan, isn't it? But he had to do it. He's sanity was at stake.
He needs his sanity! That's the only thing he has left!
"Yeah?" he replies, wondering how the blonde will react to that. He probably thinks he's insane. So much for preserving the image that he's the only sane one in the group…
Miguel continues to blink, before a smile appears on his lips again. "…Are they that bad?"
Kai can't help but laugh softly, whether from joy that Miguel believes him, or relief that Miguel doesn't think he's lost his marbles. "You have no idea."
Miguel smiles brightly, seemingly happy with earning a laugh from Kai and they fall into silence once again. Looking down at the bundle in his arms, Miguel recalls the moment he realizes that Bugsy was missing and promptly curses himself. He already thought his crummy day was bad enough, but to come home to find several orphan children crying and pointing accusing fingers at each other only made it much worst.
Thank the heavens for Kai.
Peering out from the corner of his eye, Miguel takes a moment to stare at Kai, taking in his slender profile. He's petite, but not exactly short. He's thin, but not skinny. He moves with a grace Miguel has never seen anyone do before. And he is beautiful, very much so. Miguel has no qualms in ever admitting that to himself, as it's true. Kai has this natural beauty about; flawless, exotic and earthy.
Suddenly, he blinks, realizing that Kai isn't wearing his scarf…and a feeling of dread settles in his stomach as he glances at the material that Bugsy has made a burrow out of, his nose poking out just a little and twitching continuously.
"What's this?" Miguel suddenly asks, pulling at the white material that is holding the little rabbit snuggly, hoping it isn't what he thinks it is.
"It's my scarf," Kai replies, bluntly.
"What?"
Kai shrugs carelessly. "I found Bugsy trying to devour my scarf. The little guy must be hungry."
A feeling of intense guilt flickers across Miguel's face. "I'm so sorry," he says, looking torn. It's sweet Kai is willing to give up his scarf, but he really shouldn't have to.
Once again, Kai inwardly melts. He has never met a human so adorable. "It's ok," he tells the guilty teen. Even though the torn look is cute he much prefers the bright smile on his face. That smile of his makes his stomach feel funny. It's all very strange for him to really comprehend at the moment, but it's not at all unpleasant.
"It's just a piece of material," he continues to reassure. "Don't worry about it."
Miguel appears if he wants to apologize some more when he suddenly realizes that he's now only a rock throws away from his home. He makes a mental note to make it up to the enigma somehow and turns towards his home.
"Well, that's where I live," he says, pointing to a quaint little two story typical Spanish style villa. "It's not very big, I know."
To Kai, it looks quite quaint, cozy even. He's so used to overly large and cold buildings that a small villa like this looks comforting. "It looks comfortable, so that's all that matters."
Miguel smiles brightly and appears as though he is about to continue their earlier conversation when a herd of little munchkins appear, gathering around Miguel, speaking all at once. Somehow, amongst the chaos, Bugsy was placed in his rabbit hutch, Miguel told the little munchkins to be more careful and Kai was somehow hailed a hero because he saved poor defenseless Bugsy.
Kai doesn't even want to imagine how the kids would've reacted if he told them about the dog. The dog was all bark and no bite for him, but it seems that to these children it would have been a hideous monster!
Kids can be so creative sometimes.
Also during the chaos, Kai was invited for lunch at Miguel's place by a group of giggling preteens. It all happened so fast that Kai still hasn't got his head around things yet. The next thing he knows, Miguel has him by the arm and leading him towards the front door of his home. The hand on his arm is firm, yet warm, which causes bolts of electricity to race down his arm and to his fingertips.
"Sorry about the kids," Miguel says as he flashes Kai another ice melting smile and leads him inside his villa. "They can be a lively bunch at the best of times."
Kai nods, knowing all too well. The children at the abbey now are much like they should be. Children; who possess large appetites of curiosity. It doesn't help that they have two of the most mischievous Russians taken care of them. Yeah, Bryan and Ian are two of the biggest pranksters that Kai has ever had the misfortune to come across.
"It's alright," he says. "I'm used to it."
"Grev?" Miguel queries as he heads into the kitchen.
A half chuckle, half snorts escapes Kai's throat as he follows him. "They're hardly 'children', but yeah, they can be just as lively."
Miguel chuckles as he opens the fridge, but soon frowns when he realizes he still hasn't done his grocery shopping yet. "Damn," he mutters, a frown creasing his lips and Kai realizes that those frown lines don't suit his handsome face at all.
"What's wrong?" Kai asks, tilting his head to the side in question.
"I have to buy a few things," Miguel replies with an apologetic smile on his lips as he closes the fridge door, a faraway look in his eyes as he mentally calculates what he needs to get and how long it should take.
A feeling of disappointment appears in Kai's chest and he frowns -pouts- a little. "I don't want to be a bother…"
"Oh no," Miguel quickly interjects, raising his hands in front of him. "I'll only be a minute. You can wait here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Miguel nods as he walks over to Kai and takes him by the shoulder, leading him into another part of the house. "Why don't you get cleaned up while I duck down to the shops? I'll only be a few minutes. I promise."
Kai still has this niggling feeling that he's just being a bother, but for the most part he wants to stay with the blonde a little longer. Besides, the blonde looks like he actually wants him to stay.
"Ok," he says, a warm shiver racing through his body once again when Miguel's eyes light up with joy.
Miguel gives him another reassurance that he'll only be a minute before he turns around and leaves through the front door. Kai watches until he disappears, his eyes subconsciously taking in Miguel's profile –his broad shoulders, his strong chest and back, his strong arms, Kai has no problem admitting to himself quietly that the blonde is very handsome- until he disappears from sight and heads into the bathroom, to splash water on his face and to clean up a little.
That takes about five minutes so Kai ventures out of the bathroom, and searches the rest of the house, just to have a quick peek around. Miguel's right. It isn't very big, but it seems homely, comfortable.
Sitting down at the kitchen table, Kai gazes out the window and stares up at the bright blue sky. "Hmm," he hums to himself lazily. "That's the same shade of blue as Miguel's eyes."
His face screws up in confusion as to where that thought came from when he hears the front door and a familiar voice calling out his return. Glancing at the clock, Kai can't help by smile how quickly Miguel returned. Well, he did say he'll only be a few minutes.
"That was quick," Kai laughs softly as he greets Miguel as he walks into the kitchen, two plastic bags and one brown bag in his hands.
"I did say I'll be a few minutes," Miguel replies cheekily.
Kai chuckles again and shakes his head, feeling freer and lighter in Miguel's presence, though he's not entirely sure why. The blonde makes him feel at ease, like he won't be judged and that he can just be himself. Even though this sensation of freedom is really quite new to him, he can't complain. It's a nice feeling and he's going to enjoy is as much as he can.
"Do you need any help?" Kai asks as he steps into the kitchen, but Miguel stops him.
"You sit down and wait. I said I'll make lunch," he says, still smiling cheekily at him. "You just have to wait."
Kai gives Miguel a small look of amusement, but does what he's told none the less. He doesn't like to be told what to do, but he can tell the blonde is trying to be bossy. He moves and sits at the kitchen table once again. He spots a newspaper sitting table on the wooden structure and pulls it across, his eyes running over a few words.
"I didn't know you can read Spanish," Miguel comments from the kitchen when he looks up and spies Kai reading the local paper.
"Only a few words," Kai replies, lifting his eyes up off the pages.
"Yeah?" Miguel says, interest clearly seen in his expression. "What words?"
"Hola, ¿ como estas?" Kai says, the Spanish equivalent to the English, 'Hi, how are you?', and remains silent as Miguel looks at him expectantly.
"Is that it?" the blonde asks with amusement in his eyes.
Kai shrugs his shoulder and places the paper down on the flat surface. "I did say a few words."
"Do you know how to reply to that question in Spanish?" Miguel queries, a smile gracing his lips.
Once again, Kai shrugs. "No. I usually just nod my head or shrug. They get the point."
A gentle laughs ring out from the kitchen and Kai finds himself smiling softly to himself as he makes a mental note of how nice Miguel's laugh is. It's warm and gentle, much like the blonde himself.
The two continue to trade small talk as Miguel busies himself in the kitchen, the delicious aroma of the food he's preparing reaches Kai's senses, making him realize just how hungry he really is. He hasn't felt this hungry in ages.
He's usually the one in the kitchen preparing something; especially if he was staying with the blitzkrieg boys. Ian, Tala and Bryan are all banned from the kitchen. The last time they were in there, it resulted in the oven door being blown off and the house filling with thick, black smoke.
The smell of burnt appliances lingers to this very day.
He must admit, to himself only, that it's kinda nice having someone else do something for him once in a while. Someone who won't blow something up just for kicks.
"Ready?" Miguel asks, leaning against the kitchen bench, smiling warmly.
Kai finds himself returning the smile with one of his own and says the one word he never ever thought he'll say, "Starving."
Chapter two done. One more to go!
Please review.